Space
Wars was a vector
graphics game, like
Asteroids and Lunar
Lander, released by
Cinematronics in
1977. In this early
arcade game, two
players each
controlled their own
ship, in an effort
to blast the other
to smithereens. Two
players were
required, as there
was no computer
controlled opponent
options. Control of
the ship and its
weapons was governed
by a series of
buttons. There were
two buttons to
rotate the ship left
or right, one for
thrust, one for
weapons, and another
for hyperspace
(would make the ship
disappear and
reappear in another
area of the
screen). There were
a few gameplay
options, such as an
option to have a
planet in the middle
of the playing area
with gravitational
pull, the option to
allow ships to pass
from one side of the
screen and appear on
the opposite side,
and even option to
close the edges in,
like Omega Race, and
have shots ricochet
off the walls.

Fans
of this game will
remember that game
time was contingent
upon the number of
quarters your
grandma sent you off
with. Basically,
each quarter earned
1.5 minutes of game
play, so a roll of
quarters would allow
to gaming nerds to
settle in for one
hour. Some of you
may even remember
playing Space War on
your Atari 2600.